Monday 5 April 2010

Birra del Borgo ReAle and ReAle Extra

Over the course of the last year, since the deadline for '500 Beers', there have been a few times that I've tried a beer and thought 'damn, I wish I'd tasted and included this little beauty'. I didn't get a great deal of Italian craft beer into the book, just focusing on what I thought might be more widely distributed over the coming couple of years. Birrificio Italiano was my bet, and predictably, that is nowhere to be found currently in the UK. That same foresight made me list Budvar as being 'partially state owned' - I'd second guessed the outcome of this year's Czech elections, after which there is always speculation about the incumbent party selling off part of the brewery. Oh well, win some, lose some.

Happily, beers from Birra del Borgo and Baladin are about to hit the market, brought in by the ever-expanding (and ever-improving) Vertical Drinks. They very kindly gave me a few bottles for evaluation purposes, and so I quickly opened and evaluated a couple.

Birra del Borgo ReAle (6.4%abv, bottle conditioned) is a copper-coloured ale that is totally bursting with the sort of juicy orange and grapefruit character that I associate with Cascade hops, deployed in a classic American style. My first impression was that this beer out-punches Sierra Nevada Pale Ale in terms of balance, flavour and juicy hop character, an impression that was confirmed by opening a bottle of SNPA for comparison purposes. Really, it's that rounded, balanced and just damn tasty. Sweet malt, punchy hops, harmonious finish. Just brilliant.

ReAle Extra (6.4%abv, bottle conditioned) is a paler beer, quite different in character, all pale malt and Amarillo dry-hopping. It's a little leaner on the nose than ReAle, although that's not really a criticism, as if it were any fuller it would seem like a stoopid cartoon version of beer. Leaner on the nose, drier on the palate, with a spicy, slightly medicinal/herbal bitterness, pitching itself somewhere between one of the first generation pale golden English ales (that's to say, without all the C-hop histrionics) and a drier Belgian triple. It's a much more grown-up beer than the straight ReAle, less interested in playing a stadium gig than an intimate in-the-know venue.

The name is also a great play on words. 'Reale' is Italian for 'royal', as eny fule kno, but Birra del Borgo are obviously savvy enough to spot the potential to suggest 'real ale' in the name. Great beer, cool packaging, and a knowing name - what's not to like?

9 comments:

  1. Really looking forward to trying some of these Italian beers. I've been hearing about them for ages, it's just impossible to get hold of them in the UK - at least it has been.

    Hopefully some places down South will get hold of them too.

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  2. Hi Chunk, we hope to be offering them through our mail order service when they arrive. The first shipment is almost sold out, but we should restock in about 10 days. Please keep an eye on our website, cheers.

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  3. Oh, and also have a look at our blog for news on what's new too, cheers.

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  4. I've had both of these, the ReAle on draft, and the ReAle Extra kicks arse, it's fantastic. I also have some KeTo ReAle that I haven't had yet, it's the one with the added tobacco. Del Borgo rock, miles better than Baladin, although the Open Baladin wasn't bad. Looking forward to being able to buy these with out having to smuggle them back in my hold luggage... If you get the chance try the Del Borgo Duchessic, which has 15% 1 year old Cantillon Lambic in it, I think it's their best beer.

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  5. Chunk, as Beer-Ritz say, they should be making them available soon.

    Bob, I stil have a couple left - Duchesa and Ke To Reporter, which is the tobacoo porter. I think they are great, and comparing them to what I've tried of Baladin, seem more beer focused than process/creation focused

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  6. I still have bottles of ReAle Extra, KeTo ReAle amd KeTo RePorter left. One of the benefits of working in Rome for the last few weeks has been the amount of Italian beer I've managed to try and bring back.

    If you get the chance, then look out for OpperBacco (4punto7, L'Una, TriplIPA), Montegioco (La Mummia - lambic, Deamon Hunter, Draco), Amiata (Bastarda Rossa - brewed with chestnuts), Ducato (BIA IPA, A.F.O., Verdi Imperial Stout) and L’Olmaia (La 5, La 9). I've had a load of these onb draft as well as having some bottles in the shed, brilliant the lot of them...

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  7. Zak: Do you have any more info on the differences between ReAle and ReAle Extra? Picked up a bottle of the Extra at GBBF and I'm interest in the difference. The Birra del Borgo website is in Italian :P

    Chunk.

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  8. Leonardo says that they are essentially the same beer, but for 1% crystal malt on the ReAle, and the different hopping schedule in the ReAle Extra.

    The story is a good one - Leonardo told me that Extra happened almost by accident. They were having a bit of a tasting session on brewday, and were having such a great time that they missed the last few aroma additions, so ended up dumping the majority of the aroma additions in right at the end of the boil!

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  9. Brilliant!

    Thanks for that, the bottle I picked up is a small 330ml one. Not as pretty as the bigger bottle, but at £3 it's difficult to say no! Looking forward to drinking it now.

    Chunk.

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Sorry about the word verification - the blog was getting spammed to bits.